Pianist Inon Barnatan makes his Kennedy Center debut with a program of selections by Ravel, Debussy, Ades and Britten from his latest solo recording, “Darknesse Visible,” and Schubert’s Sonata in A major. His bow to Schubert reflects his love of the composer who is the focus of both his first solo recording and the third due out next spring.
“I’ve been living with some of the pieces in this program many years,” he said. “As I learned each, I felt some connection between them. Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ and Debussy’s ‘Suite bergamasque’ were inspired by poetry and so is ‘Darknesse Visible’ by contemporary British composer Thomas Ades. He based the work on John Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ and a song by lutenist John Dowland, both written during the 17th century. I’ve always appreciated imagination and inspiration and discovering how musicians take something by poets and writers and make it their own.
